The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the towering buildings, casting a warm glow over the city.
Squinting, David instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes. It was a little harsh but oddly comforting.
"Good morning, residents of Night City!"
"The weather today is sunny with a temperature of 28°C. Please take necessary precautions against UV exposure…"
A massive 3D screen atop a high-rise building played an AI-generated weather forecast, interspersed with flashy corporate advertisements.
David snorted. "Morning in Night City? What a joke. This place never sleeps."
Adjusting his hood, he made his way toward the maglev train station. His destination was a black-market ripperdoc near Little China, a few stops away from Watson's Edge, where he currently lived.
Swiping his card at the entrance, he stepped onto the train. The seats were already occupied by weary office workers, most of them corporate drones rushing to their morning shifts.
From the Arasaka logos on their suits, David immediately recognized them.
Arasaka Corporation.
The undisputed rulers of Night City.
These were just another wave of expendable employees—wage slaves working themselves to the bone for a company that didn't care whether they lived or died.
A mix of pity and disdain flickered through David's mind.
Unlike the others in the train, he was different. No cyberware, no augments—just pure flesh and bone. In a city where everyone had some form of implant, being "pure" made him a rarity.
But he didn't care.
Augments had their benefits—enhanced strength, speed, reaction time. But they also came with dependencies, vulnerabilities. David wasn't ready to trade away parts of himself for convenience just yet.
Leaning against the door, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, rectangular chip.
It had a sleek design, imprinted with the unmistakable Arasaka insignia.
David smirked. "Arasaka-grade tech? Should fetch a nice price… if I can keep Claude from screwing me over."
Claude, a well-known black-market ripperdoc, was as ruthless as they came. If Arasaka was the master of corporate exploitation, then Night City's ripperdocs were the leeches that drained the desperate dry.
Dealing with him required finesse.
But David was up for the challenge.
What he didn't notice, however, was the pair of eyes watching him from a few feet away.
The maglev train sped smoothly along its route, passing through station after station without incident.
David was relaxed, absently watching the city blur past the window.
The sunlight flickered through the high-rises, dancing between gaps in the skyline.
A rare moment of peace.
And then—
Something was off.
A slight fluctuation in the electromagnetic field around him.
David's senses sharpened in an instant. His gut told him someone was too close—uncomfortably close.
Someone was reaching for his pocket.
Without hesitation, he moved.
His hand shot down, gripping a wrist before the thief could snatch the chip.
Got you.
There was a slight gasp as he turned to face the would-be pickpocket.
And that's when his world stopped.
Short, silvery-blue hair.
A touch of red eyeshadow.
Piercing azure cybernetic eyes.
David's breath hitched.
"Lucy…?"
The realization hit him like a freight train.
Lucy. The netrunner from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
A character he had once watched, admired—even had a crush on back in his old world.
And now, here she was.
Stealing from him.
Lucy's eyes flickered with a hint of surprise, but only for a second. Her expression quickly morphed into one of feigned innocence.
David quickly replayed his last few moments. He had pulled out the chip—an Arasaka-grade chip—without thinking.
That must've caught her attention.
Damn, she's got sharp eyes.
The train came to a sudden stop. A station announcement blared over the speakers.
"Now arriving at Kabuki Station—"
The momentary jolt from the stop threw Lucy forward.
And straight into David's chest.
Oh.
Shit.
For a split second, his mind went blank.
Soft.
The warmth of her body pressed against his chest. The faint scent of something sweet—maybe her shampoo—mixed with the artificial sterility of the train's recycled air.
David swallowed.
His grip on her wrist tightened slightly.
Lucy looked up, her bright blue eyes meeting his. A playful, almost teasing glint danced behind them.
"Sir," she purred, "how long are you planning on holding my hand?"
David barely registered her words.
The train doors slid open, and the push of the morning crowd pressed around them. But in that moment, it felt like the world had shrunk to just the two of them.
Lucy's lips curled into a smirk.
"Let go, and maybe I'll be nice," she murmured, voice dripping with honeyed mischief.
David blinked, snapping out of his daze.
Shit.
She was playing him.
With her free hand, she subtly tried to slip the chip into her sleeve.
David smirked.
"Sure," he said. "I'll let go—after you hand back my chip."
Lucy's grin widened. "Hmm… no fun at all."
And with that, she twisted.
With a swift, practiced movement, she spun free from his grasp, seamlessly blending into the moving crowd.
David cursed under his breath.
"Goddamn it."
Heart pounding, he pushed forward, following the trail of silvery-blue hair weaving through the station.
No way was he letting her get away that easily.